Sectional display box



p 1950 B. KENNEDY 2,522,620

SECTIONAL DISPLAY BOX Filed Feb. 10, 1947 Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SECTIONAL DISPLAY BOX Bert Kennedy, Gloversville, N. Y.

Application February 10, 1947, Serial No. 727,638

4 Claims. 1

My present invention relates to containers for articles of merchandise and has for its object to provide a package in the form of a box composed of open half sections hinged together so that one portion may be folded upon the other to close the container, each section being open upon its inner face to facilitate the display of the goods contained therein when the receptacle is opened on a store counter or display case.

Another object of my invention is to provide a double compartment box comprising shallow open faced compartments capable of being closed together for the packing and shipping of Various articles and when opened to exhibit the contents, said container having a jointed retainer which when the box is closed serves to retain the articles in the respective compartments and which is automatically adjustable upon opening the box to permit the articles therein to be readily removed. v

To these and other ends my invention has for its object to provide further improvements in con struction, all as will be fully described in the accompanying specification, the novel features thereof being set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a goods container showing one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view taken one the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing the container in an open position for displaying its contents.

Figures 4 and 5 are similar views showing the release of the retainer in two different positions to facilitate removal of goods for inspection.

Figure 6 is a similar sectional view illustrating the parts in a partially closed position, and

Figure 7 is a central transverse sectional view illustrating the container in a fully closed position.

Figure 8 illustrates a modified arrangement for connecting the goods retainer to the side walls of the container, portions of each of said parts being shown in perspective. I

Similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar parts. 7

A major object of my invention is to improve the packaging of many different articles of merchandise, both for the purpose of protecting them against shelf wear and enhancing their sales appeal, as well as to provide a container in which the goods may be delivered to the customer. The container is particularly adapted for the display of objects which may be laid in a more or less flat position, such for example as suspenders for trousers, or articles sold in pairs such as gloves, stockings and the like.

In carrying out my invention I provide a box such as shown in Fig. 1 composed of half sections A and B, each comprising a bottom a, b. The sections are open on their inner faces and are of a length and depth determined according to the particular goods to be packed therein. The depth of the sections, which may be varied as desired, is determined by the height of the side walls I| and the end walls 2-2. Parts A and B are connected at their proximate edges by a central parting strip C, the points of connection being along the score line cc which form hinged connections for the respective parts. The parting strip is of a width corresponding to the combined width or height of the side walls |-I so that when the sections A and B are closed one upon the other the container is rectangular and their bottoms a and b are parallel, as shown in Fig. '7.

Facing flanges 33 extend inwardly from the ends 22. Their outer ends are fastened to the edges of the side walls and their inner ends terminate in alinement above the hinges or score lines c-c so as not to interfere with the closing of the sections. These flanges also serve to stiffen the ends of the sections and are preferably of a width to permit articles to be readily inserted or tucked beneath them yet prevent the articles from dis-placement due to careless handling of the package.

Another important feature of my invention resides in the placement of a retainer for the goods across the open faces of the container sections A and B which in addition to permitting the contents to be viewed is readily displaceable to permit packing the goods in the first instance, removing them for customer inspection and their subsequent replacement for delivery to the customer upon completion of a sale.

In accomplishing the aforesaid objects I provide across the open faces of the sections AB, preferably in a central position, a band D of cardboard which is of somewhat heavier stock than that used in making said sections so that it possesses a greater stiffness. Its upper face lies in the plane of the free edges of the sides l| and is attached permanently thereto by bending its ends dd downwardly and cementing them to the inner faces of the side walls. This connection however need not be a permanent one and may be effected as shown in Fig. 8 by providing the side walls of the box with slotted apertures I to receive tongues l cut in the ends of the band D. There are several features to be noted regarding this retainer. In the first place it is scored transversely at its center to permit it to bend or flex with equal facility in either direction, the scoring being preferably done from opposite sides in such a manner as to leave a slight rib on its lower side, as indicated by 4. Second, the overall length of the retainer is slightly in excess of the combined widths of the parts A, B and C so that when the container is opened in a flat position on a counter, as shown in Fig. 3, the side walls l-l are distorted slightly by being pushed apart. At this'time the weight of the goods in the two sections A and B holds them in alinement and the retainer overlying them serves to hold the goods against displacement. If occasion calls for a closed inspection of the goods, as may be the case where a customer is endeavoring to purchase a pair of gloves, so that it is desired to remove one of the articles, the sales clerk merely presses the side walls at the ends of the retainer, toward each other. operation causes the center of the retainer to move upwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, affording space for removal of the goods. And of course by raising one of the container sections slightly the retainer will be caused to separate itself in a direction away from the underlying goods a considerable distance, see Fig. 5.

When goods for sale are being packed in the container in the first instance or when they are being returned to the container after customer inspection the retainer will be lifted or withdrawn in position shown in Fig. 5. Thereafter the sections A and B will be adjusted into alinement to bring the retainer into engagement with the goods, as depicted in Fig. 3 when, with the retainer in this position, one of the sections A or B may be folded upon the other.

In this last operation another feature of my invention comes into play namely that of locking the center point of the retainer firmly against the enclosed or underlying goods in each of the sections.

Directly beneath the flexing point 4 of the retainer I provide in the center hinge section C a slot'5 into which the rib 4 of the retainer passes and through which it projects slightly, as shown in Fig. 7.

The display container for various classes of goods may be constructed throughout of cardboard of any desired grade, weight and thickness and being of simple design may be constructed cheaply, serving in the sale of many articles for the preservation of the goods and their delivery through retail channels directly from the manufacturer to the customer.

'I claim:

1. A goods display container comprising duplicate open faced boxes hinged together along one side and openable into a common plane for display purposes with their open faces upward each of said boxes having a bottom, walls extending upwardly from the free edges of said bottom, and a goods retainer attached at its ends to said walls opposite to the sides hinged together and extending across the bottoms of the boxes and having at its center a double acting hinge joint permitting it to be moved in a direction away from the bottoms of the boxes when the latter are in the open position and permitting the portions thereof at opposite sides of the joint to fold against each This slight other when the boxes are folded together upon their hinge.

2. A goods display container comprising duplicate open faced boxes, a hinging portion connecting one side of each of said boxes so that they are openable into a common plane for display purposes with their open faces upward each of said boxeshaving a bottom with walls extending upwardly from its free edges, said hinge portion being provided with an aperture, a goods retainer attached at its ends to the side walls and spaced from the bottoms of the boxes and having a hinge joint located at its center in alinement with said aperture, said retainer being of a length in excess of the combined width of the boxes, its two half portions folding together when the boxes are closed upon each other and its jointed portion projecting through the slot.

3. A goods container comprising duplicate open faced boxes located-in parallelism withsaid faces uppermost when in goods display position each having side walls at their outer lateral edges, a parting strip located between the other proximate edges of the bottoms and hinged to each of them, said parting strip having a centrally located longitudinally extending aperture, a goods retainer strip extending transversely of the boxes above the bottoms, across the aperture and connected at its ends to the side walls of the boxes, said retainer being of a length in excess of the combined widths of the boxes and provided with a transverse joint permitting its sections at opposite sides of the joint to fold together and its jointed portion to enter the aperture in the parting strip when the boxes are closed together upon their hinge connections.

4. In a goods display container, the combination with two similar open-faced box-like sections arranged side by side having bottoms connected at their proximate edges by hinge means, upwardly extending walls at the lateral edges of said bottoms, of a goods retainer connected to the edge of each section opposite to said proximate edge and extending over the bottoms of the two sections of a length in excess of the overall transverse width of the bottoms and hinge means when the sections are opened to a position where said bottoms are in a common plane, said retainer being manually movable into and out of a position in parallelism with the common plane of said bottoms.

' BERT KENNEDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

